


The Exchange

by CarlyWrites



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awesome Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt Natasha Romanov, Natasha Romanov Lives, One Shot, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24444322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarlyWrites/pseuds/CarlyWrites
Summary: Steve goes to Vormir to return the stone and get Natasha back, but the exchange could only heal so much.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 8
Kudos: 113





	The Exchange

**Author's Note:**

> I have had this idea in my head for a while! Once I finish my current series, I might do a long fic on Nat’s resurrection. Until then, a little one shot!! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> *sorry for any formatting issues, posting from my phone!*

He stands on the edge of the cliff, stone in hand. He doesn’t know what he will do if this doesn’t work. It has to work. He hasn’t had enough time with her. He spent five years avoiding it. He couldn’t, not with everyone gone. He had a plan for when everyone came back. Now, this was his last hope. He drops the stone, and it quickly falls out of sight. There was no one to greet him here, as there had been for Clint and Nat. No stone to guard, he supposes. 

There is a brilliant flash of golden light, warm and soft. It is reminiscent of early fall days and spring mornings. The feel of cool grass underfoot, the smell of clean laundry, and for some reason, peanut butter. 

The light clears and Steve finds himself in a pool of cold water, a stark contrast to the comfort of moments ago. 

He sits up groggily, shaking the water off his suit. A few feet away, a familiar figure lays in the water, unmoving. He crawls over to her, surprisingly sore from whatever just occurred. Natasha’s breaths are shallow and weak, but definitely there. A tension he had been carrying for days finally releases. 

“See you in a minute, you said,” he strokes loose strands of hair away from her face. As Steve stands up, with Natasha in his arms, a weak whine escapes her lips. “We’re going home, you’re okay.” Her eyelids flutter but remain shut. 

He programs both their watches, miraculously, hers remained undamaged. Moments later, he is stepping off the platform at Tony’s lake house. Bruce, Sam, and Bucky wait before him.

“Oh my God, Natasha,” Bruce runs forward. 

“We need medical, ASAP. Call Cho, Fine, anyone,” Steve barks out. 

“Hey I was just about. Head to the Barton-“ Wanda cuts herself off, “Is that Nat?” Steve nods, holding Natasha closer. Her eyes blink open, panic flashing on her face. However, when her eyes meet his, the panic melts into recognition, and she relaxes in his arms once more. 

“Bruce?” Steve asks. 

“The medical facility at the compound sustained minimal damage, we can bring her there.” 

On the quinjet, Nat is hooked up to various machines, and Steve can do nothing but watch, not wanting to get in the doctor’s way. 

“I’m going to call Clint,” Steve states, hoping to do something productive.

“Don’t,” his head swings towards Bruce, “Let’s not get his hopes up, not yet.”

Steve’s stomach drops. He saved her. He brought her back. She can’t go through all of that to die. 

The ride takes only minutes, and upon landing, Natasha is whisked off to surgery. He hasn’t been given so much as an update. He didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. 

Half the compound is still smoldering, destroyed. The residences, where Natasha lived alone for years, is gone. Reduced to rubble, dust. Steve sits on the steps outside medical, there is no where else to go. The waiting area is gone. 

“I didn’t think you were coming back.” He looks up, Bucky standing in front of him.

“I wasn’t sure I was going to, but I had to try.” 

“You got her back,” 

“Hopefully,” Steve runs his fingers through his hair. “I never got to tell her. We never got to,”

“I know,” His best friend sits down beside him. “From what I’ve seen, she’s tough,”

  
“She can kick my ass any day,” Steve smiles fondly. 

“A swear? From Captain America?” Bucky raises his eyebrows.

“She’s rubbed off on me,” 

Hours tick by, and the sun is getting ready to set, when the door behind Steve opens. 

“She’s okay, she’s going to be okay,” Bruce claps him on the shoulder. “She’s still out, but you can come see her.” Steve jumps up, forgetting his own soreness, and follows. 

Natasha is in a hospital bed, asleep. Her red hair frames her face like a fiery halo. He had missed that red hair when they were on the run. It is so quintessentially her. “She’s stable. We had to stitch up the back of her head, and remove stones from her back, there were some really deep gashes. From the X-Rays, it looks like a lot of recently healed bones, she’s going to be sore for a while. But with her serum,” Bruce smiles, “She should be back to wiping the mat with you in a few weeks,” 

Someone managed to find him a folding chair to sit on as he waits for Natasha to wake up. Sam brings in takeout from the Chinese food place up the road, keeping Steve company. An hour later, Wanda walks in, covered in soot. Steve shamefully notices that he forgot to check in with his youngest team member upon landing at the compound. She holds out a duffel bag, almost as covered with dirt as she is. 

“What’s this?” 

“Nat’s emergency bag. She kept it under her floor, it survived.” Steve opens it up and sees a collection of Natasha’s only remaining possessions. It is surprisingly sentimental, the items within. There is the obvious, such as weapons and spare clothes, but there are others too. A drawing from Lila Barton. A photo of the team getting shawarma after the Battle of New York, her arrow necklace, and confusingly, an empty packet of Hubba Bubba bubble gum. 

“Thank you, Wanda. Really.” The girl smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She’s thinking of Vision, how much she would like him to come back, just as Nat has. And Tony was probably the only one who could do it. 

It is nearly midnight when Steve hears a soft groan. He looks over and sees Natasha shifting, her face screwed up in pain. 

“Nat?” Her eyes open sleepily, anesthesia still coursing through her system. “Hey, welcome back,” She blinks, a small smile on her lips. Steve offers her some water, which she drinks readily, awakening more with each passing moment. 

“Wh’ happen?” She slurs. 

“You saved the world, like you always do,” He places the cup back on the end table. 

“Mhm,” She nods but then winces, touching the back of her head. “Spar?” 

“No,” he pulls her hand away from the bandages. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Whales,” she murmurs. 

“Whales?” Steve laughs. This brings a smile to her face. It is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. Moments later, she has fallen back asleep. 

Steve doesn’t sleep, waiting all night for something to go wrong. For her to leave again. But she doesn’t. She survives the night. In the morning, Nat sits up gingerly, looking over at Steve. 

“Hi Soldier,” Steve drops his book in surprise, and scrambles to pick it up off the floor. 

“Nat,” he smiles. 

“Care to share why I am in the hospital?” The door to her room opens and Nat’s jaw drops. “Bruce? Is that you?” 

“Hey Natasha,” the green giant smiles.

“You’re big, and burned,” her eyes drift to his arm, still slung to his chest. 

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Bruce asks carefully. Steve has been worrying the same thing.

“Steve showed up at the compound, he told me about whales in the Hudson,” She looks between the two of them. “Did we get attacked? Get hurt sparring?” Neither of them meet her eyes. 

“Hey guys, I got coffee,” Wanda steps in holding a tray.

“Oh my God,” Natasha stares at the witch. “You’re here? How are you here?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think,” Wanda looks between the three of them.

“No, stay. You’re back. Is?” Natasha looks hopefully to Steve. 

“They’re all back. We did it, Nat. You did it.” Steve grabs her hand. 

“How?” she looks over at Wanda once more, mystified. 

“Time travel,” Bruce states bluntly. Natasha laughs, but then winces, grabbing her side. 

“And you,” Steve looks away, unsure how to tell his partner what she gave up. “You sacrificed yourself for the soul stone.”

“I died?” Natasha clarifies, the mirth disappearing from her face. “How am I back? Did you resuscitate me or something?” No one answers. “What?”

“You died a week ago,” Steve sighs, “but really you were only dead for a few minutes, time travel, it’s complicated,” he finishes lamely. 

“How am I back? What did you do?” The heart monitors begin to pick up her panic. “How did this happen? Why did I sacrifice myself? How did you bring me back?” 

“Nat, calm down, it’s okay. I gave the stone back to get you,” 

“Why did I sacrifice myself?” 

“It was you or Clint. So you jumped.” Natasha sinks back into the pillows, worn out from so much exertion. 

“I remember that,” she breathes. “I remember falling, seeing his face. I thought it was a dream,” 

“You saved the universe,” Steve pulls the blankets back up.

“I’m tired, and sore,” 

“Like I said, you saved the universe,” he shoots her a cocky smile.

“Nat, if it’s okay, I’d like to run a few more tests,” 

“Test away, Doc. Not very often you get to examine a zombie,” She teases with her signature smirk. 

* * *

“I’m going,” She glares at Bruce. “And I’d like to see you try and stop me.” 

“Natasha, you can’t even walk,” he snaps back. 

“I could still kick your ass,” Nat hisses.

“Okay, that won’t be necessary,” Steve steps in. “Bruce, Nat hasn’t seen them in five years, and she’s stable. I can’t imagine that flying would cause any damage,”

“There are still a lot of unknowns,” 

“Everything is unknown. I came back from the dead. But as far as I know, so did four billion other people,” 

“They weren’t _dead_ ,” 

“Bruce, I’m going. And if it’s that much of a worry, I’ll bring Steve with me,”

“Fine. But I want updates every few hours,” 

“Sure thing,” she replies sarcastically. “Top of my to-do list,” Bruce leaves, slamming the door behind him. Natasha looks over to Steve, “I’m sorry, I guess I should have asked you. I hope you don’t have any plans,”

“I would love to come to the farm with you, Nat.” 

Steve, Natasha, and Wanda board the jet. Natasha’s face twisted in pain as she pulled herself out of the wheelchair and into a seat. She almost fell, with Wanda helping at the last second. Natasha falls asleep within moments of taking off. Bruce said it was normal, for her to be sleeping this much. As she recovers, she’ll be able to stay awake longer. For now, she is sleeping eighteen hours a day. _Normal_ , Steve reminds himself. _She is doing well, she is recovering_. 

Wanda gently wakes Natasha upon landing, who flinches, eyes wide in fear. 

“Nat, we’re on the jet! You’re safe, you’re okay,” Steve coaches quickly. He was no stranger to Natasha’s nightmares. For the three and a half years he lived at the compound after the Snap, they had helped each other. She nods, still slightly dazed. 

“I’m okay,” she echoes, “I’m alive?” Steve’s stomach clenches. 

“Yeah, you’re alive.” She smiles, and it brightens her whole face. 

The gangplank drops and they step out. Natasha leans heavily on Steve, insisting on not using a wheelchair, not wanting to scare the kids. She looks like she is in agonizing pain with each step. Steve ends up carrying her to the front door, setting her down carefully at the front.

“I’m not fine china, Rogers,” she jests, but it lacks her normal conviction. Wanda pulls open the door. 

“We’re here!” She calls. Clint rounds the corner and runs to Natasha, pulling her into a hug. She cries out in pain, contradicting her most recent statement. Clint releases instantly, looking shocked.

“Nat, I’m sorry, oh,”

“I’m okay, just a little sore,” she lies. The kids and Laura join, greeting Natasha excitedly. She tears up, looking at her found family. Steve notices she is starting to sway slightly, and helps her over to the couch. 

“Auntie Nat?” Lila asks cautiously.

“I’m okay, Lila-bear, just a bit sore,” 

“Dad said you died,” Cooper accuses. Natasha nods, and thanks Laura who brings over some water. Her hand shakes as she tries to drink, spilling the liquid on herself and the couch. Steve reaches to steady her hand, helping her. She flushes in embarrassment. Laura and Clint, along with their two eldest, look concerned, but Nate climbs up next to her, snuggling into her side. 

“I’m glad you’re not dead,” Nate murmurs. Natasha smiles down at her namesake.

“Couldn’t leave you guys and your mom to deal with Dad all on your own.” She tickles his stomach, causing the child to squeal with laughter. “Nice tats, by the way,” she looks to Clint.” Her best friend frowns momentarily and Natasha realizes she forgot she was supposed to have already seen them. “Sorry, somethings are a little cloudy right now,” 

“We’re just happy to have you back, Nat.” Laura assures her. “I’m putting hot dogs on the grille, does that sound good to everyone?” 

“I’ll help,” Wanda offers, picking Nate up off the couch. “And you can be my little helper,” 

“Wanda, I’m not little anymore!” The child complains. Cooper and Lila follow, while Steve heads to the quinjet to get their bags, giving the pair some time alone. 

“You never get to sacrifice yourself for me again, understand?” 

“Only if you promise never to put yourself in a situation where I have to,” Natasha retorts. 

“You’re okay?” Clint asks, taking a seat next to Natasha. 

“I will be, I feel better than I did a few days ago.” She grabs his hand, “I don’t remember how, but I’m glad I got you back.” 

“Good luck ever getting rid of me again,” He nudges her gently.

“Wouldn’t want to,”

* * *

After dinner, the makeshift family gathers around the fire pit in the backyard. The kids roast marshmallows, while Natasha leans against Steve, her eyelids dropping. 

“Let’s head in,” Steve offers, helping Natasha off the outdoor loveseat. 

“You’ll still be here tomorrow, right?” Lila asks nervously.

“Not going anywhere,” Natasha promises tiredly. After a chorus of goodnights, Steve carries her up the stairs. “You tell anyone you had to carry me today, and I’ll kill you,” 

“Of course. Wouldn’t expect anything less.” He gently places Natasha in her bed and turns off the light. 

“Steve?” She asks tentatively into the dark, “Will you stay with me a minute?” 

“Of course,” Steve settles down beside her hiding his surprise. She presses up against him, and he finds that she is shivering, no, shaking.

“Nat?”

“I remember it now,” Her words are barely a whisper. “I remember dying. It hurt, it hurt more than you could ever imagine. I felt my life fading, and I tried to hold onto it. It was like trying to grasp smoke.” 

“Natasha,” 

“I didn’t want to die,” she cries. “I don’t remember the moments leading up to it, I just remember the pain. But it was worth it, right? To get everyone back?” Steve doesn’t answer. He promised to always be honest to her, the one person in her life who will never lie. And he doesn’t know if it was worth it. He should have been there. He would have jumped. Or they could have found another way. Losing her, that was never part of the plan. 

“I’m just grateful you are here now,” he rests his chin on her head. 

“It’s unfair to Pepper,” 

“We tried to bring him back too,”

“He has a family. What did I deserve to come back for?” 

“You have a family too, Nat. On this farm, with me. You have people who missed you and love you,

“You love me, Rogers?” She pulls her head from under his chin and looks up at him in the shadowing darkness of the room, the only light coming from the full moon outside. Her tone is teasing, her usual banter, but Steve can feel the weight behind the question. A question coming from someone who had been lost for most of her life. Alone. Thinking that surviving and living are the same thing.

“Nat, I love you more than you could ever know.” Natasha, who always has more courage in the dark, in the world she was raised, leans up and places a kiss gently on Steve’s lips, and pulls away setting back onto the bed. 

  
“I’ve been waiting to do that again for nine years,” She smiles. They lie in silence for a moment, and Steve begins to think Natasha has fallen asleep, when she rests her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, “I love you too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked this little fluff! If so, I always appreciate any comments and feedback!


End file.
